


A Sense of Normalcy

by kikabennet



Series: Raising Yevgeny Milkovich [13]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Cute Kids, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Hospitals, M/M, Mickey Milkovich & Svetlana Milkovich Friendship, Toddlers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 03:20:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5359199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikabennet/pseuds/kikabennet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 13 of the "Raising Yevgeny Milkovich" series. Yevgeny is allowed come home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Sense of Normalcy

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank everyone again for sticking with this series. I'm so glad you enjoy it, and an extra special thank you to those who leave comments, kudos, and bookmark this series.

Ian stayed at the hospital the following night after trading spots with Svetlana to run home and take a quick nap and shower. As he prepared to head out the door to go back, Gavrel-who'd been coloring at the kitchen table-jumped up and tore after him all the way to the front door.

“I wanna go!” He said, hanging onto his father's leg.

“No, Baby,” Ian told him. “I'm gonna go check on your brother.

He rubbed Gavrel's thick, copper-colored hair. “You stay here with Mama and Daddy and Izzy.”

“I wanna see Yevvie!” Gavrel whined, tugging harder. “I wanna see Yevvie too, Daddy!”

“You can't,” his father told him sympathetically. “It's a quiet place because Yev needs to sleep and I'll be there all night.”

Gavrel pouted, but finally let go of Ian. He ran to the kitchen table and returned to Ian with a drawing.

“Give this to my brother,” he said. “It's his present.”

Ian took the drawing, which looked like rainbow chicken scratch to him, but he'd learned in all of his child development classes in college how important artwork was to a child.

“Tell me about your drawing,” he prodded.

Gavrel beamed.

“It's me, and Yevvie, and Izzy, and Daddy, and Daddy Ian, and Mama, and we're at the frog store and we're all buying frogs. Yevvie's frog is orange. He'll like that because orange is his favorite,” he explained happily.

Ian leaned down to scoop him up and gave him a big, tight hug.

“This will make your brother feel a whole lot better,” he said, peppering his faces in growly kisses, making Gavrel laugh.

 

\----------------

 

Yevgeny looked pitiful when Ian arrived, awake and just staring at the wall across from his bed. Pain medication dripped through an IV into his hand, giving him a blank, tired look.

“Hey,” Ian said, moving over to the bed with the drawing and a brown paper bag in his hand.

Yevgeny looked up at him and actually smiled. Ian smiled too and retrieved a chocolate milkshake from the bag. He took a straw from the bag too and tore the paper off with his teeth. He put the straw in the shake and held it to Yevgeny's mouth. Yevgeny drank a lot of it.

“Figured you might like that,” Ian said, pulling it back.

“One of the nurses gave me a sponge bath,” Yevgeny told him.

“Oh, she didn't just drag a hose in here and spray you?” Ian joked, making a spraying noise as he imitated spraying a hose all over the place.

Yevgeny laughed a little.

“Gavvie and Izzy are going crazy without you,” Ian told him. “Especially Gavvie. He told me to give you this.”

He handed the drawing to Yevgeny, who took it with his good hand-the one with the IV drip. It was just a sheet of paper, but Ian could see how he struggled to hold it up. His hand flopped back onto the bed and Ian took the drawing, setting it in the vacant chair next to the one he was sitting in.

“Gavvie said we're at the frog store,” he explained. “You bought an orange frog. I guess that means one of those poisonous rain forest frogs.”

Yevgeny turned his head the best he could away from Ian and tears silently slid down his cheeks. Ian grew concerned, but he remembered the doctor and nurses warning them of this.

“Yevvie?” He asked gently, wiping at the eight-year-old's tears with the pad of his thumb.

“I just wanna go home,” Yevgeny choked out before rolling into a fit of sobs.

Ian got up to retrieve some Kleenex and wiped at Yevgeny's eyes and nose.

“You will, Buddy,” he assured him.

A nurse entered the room to check on things. She took Yevgeny's temperature and looked in his eyes with a flashlight and what not. She made small talk as she did so, like Yevgeny wasn't lying in pain in a hospital bed in tears, and it almost angered Ian the way she ignored his distress. Ian only understand when she leaned in close and said quietly, “He's going to be very emotional. It's the medication.”

She was trying to spare Yevgeny from embarrassment by calling attention to his tears. After she left, Ian sat back in the chair and his phone buzzed.

“It's Uncle Lip,” he told Yevgeny, texting his brother back.

Yevgeny's eyes drooped and Ian stroked some of his hair with one hand, texting Lip with the other. Yevgeny drifted off to sleep and when he woke, Lip was sitting in the chair next to Ian, the two brothers speaking to one another in soft voices. Lip noticed Yevgeny stirring.

“Hey, Yev,” he said. “How're you doin', Man?”

Yevgeny, still foggy with oatmeal brain, said nothing. Ian punched Lip softly on his arm.

“Right, that was a stupid question,” Lip said, and held up a plastic shopping bag. “Got you something.”

“What?” Yevgeny rasped out.

Lip retrieved a box from the shopping bag and held it up for Yevgeny to see. Yevgeny stared at it for a long time, his brain still booting up.

“A tablet!” He said in a scratchy voice, smiling.

He'd been begging Ian and Mickey for a tablet, who kept telling him no because they didn't believe in kids being glued to a computer screen. They'd actually caved privately and were planning on getting him one for Christmas.

“Ian told me you got a sponge bath,” Lip said. “Nurse cute?”

Ian snorted and said, “Shut up.”

 

\---------------

 

The next few days were a blur. Dr. Russo informed them of good news.

“Even X-Rays can be tricky,”he said, showing them copies. “The bone scan shows there actually isn't a fracture to the hip, but there is torn muscle so even though surgery won't be necessary, recovery time is.”

Svetlana smiled, rubbing her hand over Yevgeny's, who was sleeping.

“This is good news,” she said, staring at the X-ray.

“Yevgeny does still have cracked ribs and a broken wrist,” the doctor continued. “He's going to be sore for a few weeks-the ribs are like blinds opening and closing every time we breathe and with the hip and wrist, he'll need lots of bed rest and help bathing and things like that.”

Mickey, Ian, and Svetlana nodded. Mickey glanced at Yevgeny.

“We should be able to release him in a few days,” Dr. Russo said.

Svetlana was quick to respond to that.

“He stays with me,” she said, like she was calling dibs. “I talk to Kevin and Veronica . They will understand.”

Ian nodded and said, “Yeah, they will.”

“He can't stay with you,” Mickey said.

Svetlana stared at him. Ian did too, a trace of amusement in his eyes. Rarely did they disagree with Svetlana. She was queen bee.

“He's gonna need help goin' to the fuckin' bathroom,” Mickey explained. “The kid's eight. You think he wants his mom around for that?”

“He is my son,” Svetlana informed him hotly.

“Yeah, _son_ ,” Mickey replied. A little more civil, he suggested, “Why don't you crash at our place for a while? You can take off work and since Ian's not workin' right now, you can do the mother hen thing and Ian and me can do the bathing and shit.”

“That'll help too,” Ian added. “Not moving the little ones around from house to house.”

Svetlana nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Mickey's eyebrows went up. “Did Hell just freeze over or what the fuck just happened?”

Svetlana shoved him, rolling her eyes.

\----------------

 

 

The next morning, Mickey had to return to work-he'd missed too many days already and even though he'd been informed that he could take all the time he needed, things were falling apart without him. His employees were fucking incompetent.

Mickey stopped by the hospital first.

“Mom here?” He asked, entering the hospital room.

It wasn't even six am yet, but because Yevgeny slept so much and so often during the day, he was up at strange hours.

“She went to go check on Gavvie and Izzy,” Yevgeny said, playing a game on the tablet Uncle Lip had brought. “I told her it was okay.”

“I brought you some breakfast,” Mickey said, holding up a McDonald's bag.

He moved to sit in the chair next to the bed and opened up the bag and unwrapped Yevgeny's sausage biscuit.

Ever since Yevgeny was little, McDonald's breakfast had been one of his favorite things. When was small, small enough that Gavrel didn't exist yet, Mickey and Ian would sometimes drive to McDonald's around five am with Yevgeny in tow to get breakfast, and eat it in the parking lot. Yevgeny would always sit in Ian's lap, talking through a mouthful of McMuffin or pancakes, their little family snug in the beat up car, perfect.

“When can I go home?” Yevgeny asked, clumsily trying to eat with his left hand.

“Real soon,” his father promised. “Doctor says they're getting ready to release you.”

He tapped the side of his son's head.

“And guess what?”

“What?” The eight-year-old asked.

“Mom's gonna come stay with us a while,” Mickey told him.

“Why?” Yevgeny wanted to know. “Daddy, do I have a drink?”

Mickey retrieved an orange juice in a cup with a straw. He handed it to Yevgeny, hands at the ready to help in case his son couldn't hold it.

“Well, Kid, you're busted up and you're gonna need some tending to plus we got Beavis and Butthead at home and they're always outta control,” he said.

A nurse came into the room to check Yevgeny over.

“Finish your breakfast, Junior,” she said in a thick, Jamaican accent. “Time to scrub you up.”

Yevgeny had hated sponge baths at first, but he didn't mind them so much anymore. He hurriedly took a few more bites of his sandwich and handed it back to Mickey, who wrapped it back up in its paper.

“Kay, I gotta go to work,” he said, kissing his son's forehead. “Mom or Ian should be here in a little while.”

“Okay,” Yevgeny said as the nurse helped him out of his loose cotton shirt.

\----------

 

Gavrel and Izzy stomped their feet excitedly when Yevgeny came through the front door. Kev was carrying him because even though both of his fathers could carry him, they worried about his hip and Kevin was bigger and stronger. Veronica and a slew of Gallaghers and Milkoviches were also there. Svetlana had fixed Yevgeny a little nest on the sofa, the same way she did for when he was sick with a cold.

“There you go, Pal,” Kev said, gently placing him on the couch. “Home sweet home.”

Veronica went into nurse mode and began informing everyone of things to remember and look for and check on. She turned to the little ones and said sternly, “No climbing on your brother.”

Gavvie stood by the couch, grinning.

“Brother, I missed you!” He said, leaning forward to kiss him. “I missed you so much! You're my favorite brother!”

Everyone smiled at that, and Izzy looked at his scratched up and bruised face and cast on his arm. She turned to Mickey and Ian.

“Why him got bo-bo?” She wanted to know, concerned.

“Some asswipe hit him with their truck,” Iggy said, picking her up. “But don't worry, Baby girl, Uncle Iggy's gonna find him and kill him.”

“Okay,” Izzy said, and wriggled out of his grasp to go up to Yevgeny again. She ran her fingertips delicately along his cast.

“Alright,everyone,” Veronica said. “This isn't an episode of Full House. Let's get out. Give Yevvie room to breathe.”

She gave Svetlana a one-armed hug.

“Call whenever you're ready to come back to work, Hon,” she told her. “Being short a bartender won't hurt, but we'll miss you.”

“I call,” Svetlana promised.

Once everyone had cleared out and it was just the six of them, Svetlana sat down beside the couch and smoothed out some of Yevgeny's hair.

“Want me to turn on television?” She asked.

Without the pain medication, Yevgeny was more alert, and he struggled into a half sitting position, wincing and falling back into a lying position. It was too much on his hip.

“What about school?” He asked.

“I already went to the school,” Ian said. “They're going to send you a packet of work, and Christmas break starts next week so you won't miss too much.”

He gave a loud clap.

“Oh! I almost forgot! Ms. Pols sent this big envelop with all these 'get well' cards your class made you.” He left the room to go get it.

Yevgeny looked around.

“Are we getting a Christmas tree?” He asked.

“Yes!” Svetlana nodded vigorously. “We go get one today.”

She stared at Mickey.

“Yeah...” he said, nodding too. “Today.”

Christmas had been the last thing on their minds. Ian returned with a large, tan envelop and handed it to Yevgeny. Yevgeny looked through it and scowled when he saw one from Aaron Friar. It was a very generic, forced card. He balled it up and tossed it on the floor.

“Someone does not wish you well?” Svetlana asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Aaron's a jerk,” Yevgeny muttered.

After a few hours, Mickey asked what everyone wanted for dinner. He suggested Popeyes-Yevgeny's favorite.

“I want Popeyes,” Yevgeny said. “Can you get extra beans and rice, Daddy?”

“Yeah, I will,” Mickey said.

Yevgeny managed to sit up, hissing in pain. “Can I go?”

“No,” Svetlana told him. “You stay on couch.”

She gently pushed him back down and scolded something in Russian. Gavrel and Izzy clung onto her legs, telling her not to scold him-whatever she was saying.

Mickey and Ian went out to get food and when they returned, Svetlana had plates and silverware set up on the table and said they were eating in the living room.

“Sounds good,” Ian said, and they did just that.

\-----------

 

Yevgeny was growing irritated with being so physically weak. Days went by and he hated being on the couch. He could now sit up, though it was painful to do, but his parents had given up on making him lie down. Walking was something he could not do, and his fathers-whichever happened to be around, had to help him to the bathroom, giving him privacy once he was on the toilet and returning when he was finished. Mickey and Ian also helped him bathe, and Svetlana took control of everything else-his medication, the other kids. The house was also cleaner and laundry and dishes got done faster.

Ian and Mickey found themselves both relieved and frustrated. Having Svetlana around was a huge help, but with everything that had gone on,the two had not been intimate in quite a while and it made them cranky.

One night, after the house had finally settled down, Ian climbed into bed beside Mickey and after the two were lying side by side, the lights off, Ian began kissing his neck.

“No, Ian,” Mickey said, rolling over.

Ian felt his cheeks grow hot. He rolled over onto his side too, his nose at Mickey's neck.

“Are we never gonna fuck again?” He asked miserably.

“I'm beat, Man,” Mickey said. “And I'm worried as shit about Yevgeny.”

“He's doing better,” Ian argued weakly. “And I know it's stressful around here and stuff, but this could really take the edge off-give us a sense of normalcy.”

Mickey rolled back over onto his back.

“You think so?” He asked.

Ian nodded, kissing him very slowly. For the first time in what seemed like forever, they made love, and Mickey went to sleep better than he had in a long time.

 

 


End file.
